Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
UK health minister leans on social media platforms to delete anti-vax content
Social media-fuelled anti-vaxxer propaganda is the latest online harm the U.K. government is targeting. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program this morning health secretary Matt Hancock said he
Facebook broke Canadian privacy law, joint probe finds
The latest damning assessment of Facebook’s trampling of user privacy comes from the Canadian and Columbia privacy commissioners — which have just published the results of an investigation
Twitter to offer report option for misleading election tweets
Twitter is adding a dedicated report option that enables users to tell it about misleading tweets related to voting — starting with elections taking place in India and the European Union . From
UK gives Huawei an amber light to supply 5G
The U.K. government will allow Huawei to be a supplier for some non-core parts of the country’s 5G networks, despite concerns that the involvement of the Chinese telecoms vendor could pose a ris
Facebook has quietly removed three bogus far-right networks in Spain ahead of Sunday’s elections
Facebook has quietly removed three far-right networks that were engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior intended to spread politically divisive content in Spain ahead of a general election in the
Spy on your smart home with this open source research tool
Researchers at Princeton University have built a web app that lets you (and them) spy on your smart home devices to see what they’re up to. The open source tool, called IoT Inspector, is availab
WikiLeaks founder charged with hacking, now faces US extradition
In a fast-moving development since Julian Assange’s arrest inside the Ecuadorian embassy earlier today for breaching U.K. bail conditions, the WikiLeaks founder has been rearrested on behalf of
Julian Assange arrested in London after Ecuador withdraws asylum
London Metropolitan police has arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London. He has been holed up in the Embassy of Ecuador in London since 2012 in order to avoid a warrant against him. Ecuador
Movo grabs $22.5M to get more cities in LatAm scooting
Madrid-based micromobility startup Movo has closed a €20 million (~$22.5M) Series A funding round to accelerate international expansion. The 2017-founded Spanish startup targets cities in its home m
Facebook agrees to clearer T&Cs in Europe
Facebook has agreed to amend its terms and conditions under pressure from EU lawmakers. The new terms will make it plain that free access to its service is contingent on users’ data being used t
One-hour terrorist takedowns backed by EU parliament’s civil liberties committee
The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee (Libe) voted yesterday to back proposed legislation for a one-hour takedown rule for online terrorist content which critics argue will force w
Europe to pilot AI ethics rules, calls for participants
The European Commission has announced the launch of a pilot project intended to test draft ethical rules for developing and applying artificial intelligence technologies to ensure they can be implemen
UK sets out safety-focused plan to regulate internet firms
The UK government has laid out proposals to regulate online and social media platforms, setting out the substance of its long-awaited White Paper on online harms today — and kicking off a public
Fleksy’s AI keyboard is getting a store to put mini apps at chatters’ fingertips
Remember Fleksy? The customizable Android keyboard app has a new trick up its sleeve: It’s adding a store where users can find and add lightweight third party apps to enhance their typing experi
Red Points closes $38M Series C for its ‘antivirus’ SaaS for brands
Barcelona-based Red Points has closed a $38 million Series C led by Summit Partners. Existing investors Northzone, Mangrove, Eight Roads Ventures and Banco Sabadell also participated in the funding ro
WhatsApp adds a tip-line for gathering fakes ahead of India’s elections
Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has launched a fact-checking tipline for users in India ahead of elections in the country.
YouTube tightens restrictions on channel of UK far right activist — but no ban
YouTube has placed new restrictions on the channel of a UK far right activist which are intended to make hate speech less easy to discover on its platform. Restrictions on Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’
Krablr nets new leadership
News just in: We’re getting reports the board of Krablr has voted overwhelmingly to jettison the sole remaining founder, Wilson Poney, and install an interim CFO to take the company in a new old
Covert data-scraping on watch as EU DPA lays down ‘radical’ GDPR red-line
An interesting decision came out of Poland’s data protection agency this week after the watchdog issued its first fine under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). On the surf
UK report blasts Huawei for network security incompetence
The latest report by a UK oversight body set up to evaluation Chinese networking giant Huawei’s approach to security has dialled up pressure on the company, giving a damning assessment of what i